“Erik ten Hag coming in, new boys, a different approach, of course, but it’s not as though Marcus didn’t want to deliver last year. Now he is flying. That’s how it goes. The times in between these two extremes we have to use and go through it and fight through it.”
They will have to fight through it here without Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Roberto Firmino as well as their longer-term absentees Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Arthur.
As for Wolves, who have had two wins, two defeats and a draw in the league under Julen Lopetegui, their transfer window recruitment gives them confidence that they can claw their way to safety. Joao Gomes, Craig Dawson, Dan Bentley, Mario Lemina, Pablo Sarabia and Matheus Cunha all arrived in January and the manager says they are now equipped to stay up.
“When I arrived we had 23 finals and it’s still the same. We have a lot of finals and we have to think step by step, match to match,” said Lopetegui. I don’t know another way to work to achieve your aims. It’s going to be a long race until the end. We have to be ready to arrive. That’s why we need to have a strong mentality.
“The club has made good work, tried to help the team and balance the team. The most important thing is not the window, it’s about trying to improve, believe in ourselves and to be ready to achieve our aims. The new signings are here to help but it’s not only about them.
“It’s about the rest of the players, they are working very hard to improve every day. We have to write the next history on Saturday. We have to be ready to compete against a very good team and fantastic players and to be able to overcome this type of team.”
Pedro Neto is not quite ready to return while Sasa Kalajdzic is out for the season, Chiquinho faces at least a couple more months of rehab and Boubacar Traore could be back in March.